‘Daughters – who’d have ’em, eh?’ Eddie sighed, as he sat back down.
‘Everything OK?’ Vinny asked.
‘So-so. Frankie was meant to be going out with Stuart today, but she blew the poor sod out, yet again. He’s not exactly admitted it to me, but I know the lad’s in love with her. Unlike that fucking toe-rag Jed, Stuart would only bring my Frankie happiness, if she’d give the poor bastard a chance,’ Eddie sighed. Stuart was the lad Eddie had shared a cell with in nick and, just as Vinny had with Jay Boy, Ed had given Stuart a job on the outside.
‘I’ve got all this to come with Ava,’ said Vinny. ‘As far as I know, there’s been no serious boyfriends – yet! I dread the day she brings one home. Give ’em the third degree, I will.’
‘Boys are far less of a worry. Well, unless they turn out gay, like mine,’ Eddie retorted. It was now common knowledge that Frankie’s twin Joey batted for the other side.
Knowing that Eddie was still struggling to get his head around Joey’s sexuality, Vinny deftly changed the subject. ‘I’ve got a bit of a dilemma meself at the mo. There’s a young bird working at the club who is proper showing out to me. She’s a real posh ’un, and I’m truly tempted.’
‘Nothing wrong with having a young bird on your arm, mate. You’re only as young as the woman you feel. Look at me and my Gina.’
‘But Felicity’s only twenty-six,’ Vinny said seriously.
Eddie Mitchell spat his Scotch back in his glass before laughing. ‘Fuck me! That is a bit young. But at least she’s legal – well, only just.’ Seeing Vinny’s expression, he toned down the humour. ‘Nah, I’m only pulling your leg, mate. If you like her, go for it. You’re a long time dead, pal.’
Daniel Butler groaned with ecstasy as Roxanne’s mouth made contact with his penis, but his ecstasy was short-lived as she quickly stopped again.
‘For fuck’s sake, Rox. You’ve gotta stop doing this. I want you badly and I’m beginning to think you’re a prick tease,’ a frustrated Daniel mumbled. If his father and Lee knew that he had yet to get his leg over with Roxanne, they would roll on the floor laughing. That’s why he’d pretended they’d done the deed early on in the relationship. It was also another reason why he was desperate for Roxanne to move in with him.
‘I’ve told you before, Dan, I need to know you’re serious about me before we take things further. You know I’ve only slept with Marty, and look what he did to me. No way will I ever give myself to another man, including you, unless I know it’s for real this time.’
Daniel propped himself up on his elbow and stared at the girl who had hit him for six. Her hairstyle kind of suited her personality. It was big and untamed, same as she was. Kissing the colourful rose tattoo on the top of Roxanne’s left arm, Daniel stopped and looked her in the eyes. ‘Will it prove I’m serious about you if I ask you to move in with me?’
Feeling a glow of happiness inside, Roxanne desperately tried not to show it. ‘It might. Depends if you’re actually going to ask me properly, or not?’
For a laugh, Daniel got down on one knee. ‘Roxanne Smith, will you please do me the honour of giving up that crappy job and accommodation of yours and allowing me to take good care of ya? The reason being, I think I might be in love.’
Roxanne burst out laughing. ‘You’re a proper Bobby Dazzler, you are. When shall I move in?’
Daniel leapt on top of Roxanne. ‘How about tomorrow? And you do know we’ll be sharing the same bed, don’t you?’
Stroking Daniel’s rock-hard penis, Roxanne said, ‘Do you think you can handle me?’
‘You bet I can. It’s you that needs to worry if you can handle me,’ Daniel groaned, pushing Roxy’s hand away before he ejaculated all over her clothes.
Roxy grinned. She knew how badly Daniel wanted her and rather enjoyed teasing him. The feeling was mutual though. She could not wait to feel him deep inside her. ‘We’ll see who can handle who the best tomorrow then, shall we?’
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Roxanne crammed all her belongings inside two large sports bags. She’d had wardrobes full of clothes and shoes back home, but had left virtually all of them behind.
Alex barged in the room, out of breath. ‘Stavros is on the warpath, looking for you. He thinks I’ve gone to find you. Oh, mate, I really am going to miss you. I dread to think who I’ll be sharing with next. I hope he don’t put a Pole or Litho in here. I cannae bloody understand ’em.’
‘I’ve left the club number in your drawer. Ring me whenever, and keep your chin up, pet. I’ll get you that barmaid’s job, I promise.’
‘I doubt it will pay enough for me to rent accommodation though,’ Alex said worriedly.
Roxy was about to reply when an angry Stavros appeared. ‘There you are, you lazy girl. Get back to work this very minute or I will dock your wages,’ he yelled, his ugly fat face even redder than usual.
Roxanne glared at the man, then picked up her bags. ‘You can stick your shitty job and room right up your big fat arse.’
When Stavros lunged towards Roxanne, Alex intervened. ‘Leave her alone. Go, Roxy, now,’ she screamed.
Feeling a tad guilty at leaving her friend behind, Roxanne ran from the room, out of the hotel and straight into Daniel Butler’s arms.
Little Vinny led a quiet life these days. His brush with the law had scared the shit out of him, and he was determined never to give them a reason to question him again. Since that torrid interrogation, Little Vinny hadn’t come face to face with Terry and had no wish to. But he’d heard through the grapevine that Terry had been promoted to chief inspector of the bloody murder squad, and all Little Vinny could hope was that the bastard had forgotten all about him. Surely there was no more evidence to come to light after all this time?
Little Vinny still worked with Finn, but all events they organized were now above board. Illegal raves were a thing of the past, and their official job title was ‘Club and Rave Promoters’. The only stroke they pulled these days was to rob the taxman of a good few quid, but they had their arses well covered by their dodgy accountant. Last year had been an extremely prosperous one. Ibiza and Ayia Napa were where they had earned the bulk of their dosh and this summer they planned to branch out to Magaluf as well. Sammi-Lou didn’t like it when he had to spend time abroad, but Little Vinny had never cheated on her and never would.
‘Do I look OK in this dress, Vin? I feel ever so fat. Charlene’s been going to Slimming World and she’s lost over half a stone in a month. I might give it a try.’
Little Vinny put his arms around his wife and squeezed her backside. Sammi-Lou was thirty-four now, a year younger than his good self and he still saw her as beautiful. She was only a size bloody twelve and he liked her curves. ‘You look gorgeous as you are. A man doesn’t wanna grab hold of skin and bones,’ he reassured her.
When the sound of the buzzer made her jump, Sammi-Lou peered out the window. They had electric gates, but the drive wasn’t enormous like her parents’. ‘Oh my God! I think it’s the police, Vin. That’s definitely a cop car. Have a look.’
Little Vinny stood rooted to the new wooden floor they’d recently had laid, fear flooding through his veins. He could feel a panic attack coming on. His mouth was dry and his hands were shaking. He’d only heard last week that Terry had been promoted. Surely he hadn’t unearthed some new evidence to bang him up like he’d once vowed to? ‘I ain’t ’ere, if they ask. Tell ’em I’m at work,’ he said, opening the back door.
‘What you done, Vin?’ Sammi-Lou asked, when the buzzer sounded for a second time.
‘Nothing, I swear. Just come and get me when they’ve gone. I’ll be in the shed.’
The ten minutes Little Vinny waited for his wife to return were truly awful. He felt physically sick and could not stop trembling. Was this God paying him back for the one awful mistake he’d made? If so, he was doing a damn good job of it.
Sammi-Lou yanked open the shed door, her complexion a deathly white. ‘We’ve got to go to the
police station. Regan’s stabbed a teacher with a pair of scissors.’
‘You what!’
Sammi-Lou burst into tears. ‘They can’t take him away from us, Vin. Say they put him away?’
Snapping out of his own dark thoughts, Little Vinny stood up and held his wife. ‘We’ll get him a good brief. He’ll be fine, I promise. Did they say if the teacher’s OK?’
‘No. I forgot to ask. What we done so wrong? We’ve been good parents, haven’t we?’
Remembering one of his nan’s sayings, ‘What’s bred in the bone comes out in the flesh’, Little Vinny shuddered. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was true.
When Daniel had come out of prison, the first thing he’d noticed about the club was how tatty and dirty the décor had become in his absence. So this week he had hired decorators, and now wished he hadn’t because it meant he would have to wait until tonight to make love to his stunning girlfriend.
Roxanne already knew the layout of the upstairs like the back of her hand, as she’d spent virtually every evening there since they’d met. She wasn’t as high maintenance as Daniel thought she might be, was quite happy to chill indoors with a film and takeaway rather than be wined and dined. ‘Is that all your clothes and stuff?’ Daniel asked, putting his arms around her waist.
Roxanne nodded. ‘I left home in a bit of a rush and couldn’t be bothered going back for the rest. My mum and dad would’ve only kicked off and tried to handcuff me so I couldn’t leave,’ she explained.
‘Have you told ’em we’re moving in together?’
‘Not yet, but I will ring me mam soon,’ Roxanne lied. She didn’t miss her overbearing parents at all and had no intention of contacting them any time soon.
Feeling his cock stiffen, Daniel pulled away. ‘While that mob are banging and crashing about, I thought we’d go out for a bit. Let’s go shopping and I’ll treat you to some new clothes. Afterwards, we can grab a meal and a few drinks somewhere. I’d like you to meet my nan properly an’ all. She rang me earlier and seemed thrilled you’re moving in. “About time you settled down with a nice girl, Daniel,”’ he laughed, mimicking Queenie’s voice. ‘Then by the time we get back, we’ll have the club all to ourselves,’ Daniel added, his voice full of longing.
Roxanne smiled. This was so much better than scrubbing floors and having that letch Stavros gawp at her breasts. ‘OK. We’ll do whatever you want.’
Little Vinny sat opposite his son in the custody suite. Instead of looking scared or upset as you would if you’d been nicked for stabbing your teacher, twelve-year-old Regan had a sulky expression on his face, bolshie attitude, and kept insisting the incident wasn’t his fault.
Little Vinny was furious, but they had a bloody copper supervising the pair of them so he had to watch what he said.
‘Hallsy has been winding me up ever since I started at that school, Dad. And he’s a nonce. Gavin Joseph reckons he touched his bum in the changing rooms once,’ Regan explained, arms folded and lips pouting.
Little Vinny leaned forward. He’d been warned he mustn’t say anything to influence the course of the interview. ‘Sit up and stop slouching. You might think you’re clever, but you’re not. You’re an idiot. You’ll have a reality check if you get sent away, that’s for sure. There’ll be none of your home comforts then, so if I was you I’d drop the attitude and be very sorry for what you did.’
‘That’s it. Your time’s up. You cannot be telling him what to say. You were warned,’ the officer said.
Little Vinny tipped his son a wink before being marched out of the suite. Now all he could do was hope the brazen little bastard had cottoned on and would take heed of his warning.
‘What’s up? Don’t you like the look of the grub in ’ere?’ Daniel Butler asked. He’d taken Roxanne to a nice French restaurant he’d been to a few times with his dad and could tell she wasn’t that comfortable.
Roxanne handed Daniel her menu. Her parents were home birds and she’d rarely eaten in restaurants, especially poncy ones like this. ‘Choose something chicken-based for me.’
Daniel ordered the food, then sipped his wine. He could tell Roxanne wasn’t a wine drinker by her look of distaste, so asked if she wanted something else.
‘Cider please,’ Roxanne smiled.
Daniel called the waiter over again, then held his girlfriend’s hand. ‘Now we’re living together, I wanna know everything about you. You’ve told me all about Marty, but little about your life back home and your family. I know you don’t get on with your parents, but why?’
Roxanne shrugged. ‘It’s hard to explain.’
‘Well, try at least. My family are by no means normal, so you won’t shock me,’ Daniel chuckled.
‘My parents are too normal. Really dull and boring, like. They’d never let me out of their sight as a child and I was never allowed to play out like all the other kids. My mam especially suffocated me, but things got a bit easier when my brother and sister were born. They started suffocating them instead.’
‘I didn’t even know you had a brother and sister. You’ve never mentioned them before. How old are they?’
‘Seven. They’re twins. My mam couldn’t fall pregnant again naturally, so had IVF treatment.’
‘You must miss the twins, surely?’ Daniel asked. Time was a healer, but he still thought about Adam. He and Lee would always visit their brother’s grave once a month and on special occasions.
‘Yeah. But, I had to get away, and the twins are a small price to pay. They’ve got each other and my parents have managed to mould them into the dream children they always craved,’ Roxanne replied sarcastically. ‘I was always the “rebel without a cause”, me,’ Roxanne admitted, quoting the title of one of her favourite films. She was addicted to old movies, especially black-and-white ones.
Daniel smiled. ‘I can imagine you being a handful. I was the same.’
‘I bet you didn’t nick your father’s brand-new Mercedes at the age of fourteen and after getting off your head on cider, write it off by accidentally crashing it into the churchyard wall,’ Roxanne bragged.
Daniel laughed out loud. ‘No, I didn’t do that, but I did pull some strokes. I once stabbed me nan’s next-door neighbour – but don’t tell her that when we visit later, ’cos I never actually confessed my sins.’
Roxanne felt a warm glow inside. Daniel truly was her very own James Dean.
‘What you smiling at?’
‘Thinking how alike we are.’
Daniel winked. ‘Bonnie and Clyde ain’t got nothing on us, babe.’
Sammi-Lou Butler was on tenterhooks. Her husband had rung her a couple of hours ago to reassure her the teacher was fine, but there was still no sign of him or her unpredictable son. She wouldn’t be able to cope if they carted Regan off to one of those awful places they sent bad boys to, and she doubted he would either.
‘Sit down, for Christ’s sake, Mum. You’re wearing the carpet out,’ Calum said.
‘Mum’s worried, Cal, and so am I. You would be too if you had a brain,’ Oliver sniped.
‘Got more of a brain than you’ll ever have – and so has Regan, which is why he’ll be fine. You ain’t ever been nicked, so what do you know about the Old Bill?’ Calum argued.
‘That’s enough silly gangster talk. You’ve got some growing up to do, Calum Butler, that’s for sure. Good job your grandfather isn’t here, listening to you spout such drivel. Getting into trouble with the police isn’t clever. It’s downright stupid,’ Meg Allen bellowed. Gary hadn’t been at home when Sammi-Lou had rung up in tears explaining the latest drama surrounding their grandsons and Meg was dreading telling her husband later. Gary would go apeshit to learn Regan had stabbed his teacher, and there was no way Meg could tone the crime down as she usually tried to whenever Regan or Calum got into trouble. Why couldn’t they be more like Oliver? He’d never caused any of them a moment’s worry in his life.
‘Dad’s pulling up. Regan’s with him,’ Oliver announced.
S
ammi-Lou darted to the front door and yanked it open. ‘What happened? Why did you do it, Regan?’ she cried.
‘Get up to your room, now,’ Little Vinny ordered his delinquent child.
‘No. I want to hear what he has to bloody say for himself first,’ Sammi insisted.
Regan Butler wasn’t stupid. He’d understood his father’s warning and been full of remorse in the interview. He’d wanted to laugh when the Old Bill had asked him ‘Do you know what you did was wrong?’ but had instead kept a straight face and replied, ‘Yes, officer. It was very wrong and I’m truly sorry from the bottom of my heart.’
Deciding to play the same sorrowful act to get his mother off his back, Regan told her exactly what she wanted to hear.
Meg Allen was almost ready to believe the child until she caught him and Calum sharing a triumphant glance and smirk. The realization that Regan was a wicked liar as well as a violent little toe-rag made Meg feel terribly ill.
Queenie waved goodbye to Daniel and Roxanne while at the same time asking Vivian, ‘What did you make of her?’
‘Pretty, but a bit punky-looking. She isn’t what I’d expected.’
Queenie marched into the lounge. ‘If she’s twenty-one, then I’m Doris Day. And as for that stud in her tongue and awful bloody ink on her arm, whatever does Daniel see in that? Could have any girl he wanted, good-looking lad like him. Must want his head tested.’
‘She was pleasant enough, Queen, but I thought she was younger an’ all. Didn’t like all that thick eye make-up either. Took the beauty away from her face.’
‘I couldn’t understand a word she bleedin’ well said. Whyever didn’t he settle for a nice London girl? There’s plenty out there to choose from.’
Tainted Love: The gritty new thriller from the #1 bestseller Page 36
